West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey has released a list of the top consumer complaints received by the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division for Barbour, Harrison, Lewis, Marion, Mineral, Monongalia, Preston, Randolph, Taylor, Tucker and Upshur counties in 2016.
“There is no shortage of consumers who file complaints about alleged violations of our law,” Attorney General Morrisey said. “Our Consumer Protection Division diligently works to protect consumers from dishonest practices.”
The list is assembled from written consumer complaints filed with the Consumer Protection Division. The tally does not include phone calls from consumers who did not follow up with a written complaint. It also does not include reports of scams.
The 2016 top complaint categories for north central West Virginia were:
- Internet Services
- Telephone Services
- Repairs-Used Vehicles
- General Sales
- Collection Agencies
- Contests-Sweepstakes-Prizes
- Landlord/Tennant
- Cell Phone Devices/Services
- Home Repairs
The Attorney General encourages consumers to educate themselves about their rights and responsibilities so they do not encounter similar issues.
Nearly one-fifth of consumer issues statewide involved automotive and motor vehicle complaints, also leading the list from last year. Communication complaints moved to second statewide from fourth in 2015.
Though the list does not include scams, that issue remains the most frequently reported consumer issue. The Attorney General warned consumers they should always be wary if a business uses high-pressure sales tactics, refuses to put terms in writing or demands the consumer surrender personal information, such as a Social Security number or banking information.
Consumers who believe they may have been a victim of a scam or taken advantage of by a business should call the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Hotline at 800-368-8808.
